Siâh, sufed, surkh, zardâi, Jo pahne, soi Gurbhâi. ‘Those that wear black (the Akâlis), white (the Nirmalas), red (the Udasis), or yellow, are all members of the brotherhood of the Sikhs.’ The Akâlis do not, it is true, drink spirits or eat meat as other Sikhs do, but they are immoderate in the consumption of bhang. They are in other respects such purists that they will avoid Hindu rites even in their marriage ceremonies. 3. The Akâli is full of memories of the glorious days of the Khâlsa; and he is nothing if he is not a soldier—a soldier of the Guru. He dreams of armies, and he thinks in lakhs. If he wishes to imply that five Akâlis are present, he will say that ‘five lakhs are before you;’ or, if he would explain that he is alone, he will say that he is ‘with 1,25,000 Khâlsa.’ You ask him how he is, and he replies that ‘the army is well;’ you enquire where he has come from and he says, ‘the troops marched from Lahore.’ 4. These sectaries are also known as Nihang, ‘the reckless,’ (others derive the word from nanga ‘naked,’ or the Sanskrit niranga, ‘having no resources’). They meet together at such places as the Akâlbhunga, at Amritsar; the Pîr Sâhib, at Attock, and the shrines of Govind Sinh, at Patna and Apchalnagar; but their chief home is at Kiratpur, in the Hoshyârpur District, where the sacred place of Phûla Sinh stands, and at Anandpur at the shrine par excellence of the Akâlis, the Gurudwâra Anandpur Sâhib, which was Guru Govind’s own house. The presence of these Akâlis at the annual Holi fair at Anandpur renders disturbances likely, and in 1864, a Missionary of the Ludhiâna Mission was killed at this fair by a Sikh fanatic. The influence of these sectaries has, however, very considerably diminished since the downfall of the Sikh power. They have not for some time past had any political significance.” Akâshmukhi.—A Saiva sect so called because they keep their face (mukha) turned towards the sky (akâsha) until the neck muscles become rigid, and the head remains fixed in that position. Some live a lonely, mendicant life: others associate in monasteries, where their natural wants are provided for by the piety of the faithful. They allow the hair of their head and face to grow, cover their bodies with ashes, and wear clothes dyed with ochre (geru).